Rent it: 'The Croods,' 'This is the End'

Sep. 30, 2013

The end's near for James Franco, Seth Rogen. / Sony

ALSO OUT THIS WEEK

• “Beauty & the Beast” – The First Season: First 22 episodes of The CW drama based on the fairy tale. • “Awkward” — Seasons 1 & 2: First 24 episodes of the MTV comedy about a teen girl (Ashley Rickards) struggling to fit in at high school. • “Glee” — The Complete Fourth Season: Sadly, the 22 episodes here will be remembered as the last to feature deceased star Cory Monteith. • “How I Met Your Mother” — The Complete Season 8: CBS kicked off the final season of this popular sitcom in late September. • “100 Bloody Acres”: Horror-comedy about two brothers (Damon Herriman and Angus Sampson) who make a popular fertilizer out of the bodies of crash victims.

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This week’s major home video releases include an apocalyptic comedy, a thriller starring Nicolas Cage and John Cusack and an animated film about cavemen.

In “The Croods,” the latest 3D feature from DreamWorks Animation, directors Kirk De Micco and Chris Sanders give viewers a glimpse of life on Earth some 3 million years ago, when there were a lot of dangerous creatures running around and survivors had to spend much of their time hiding out.

Viewers learn this from Eep, the teen daughter in a cave family. The family’s success is largely due to its patriarch, a powerful hunter named Grug. He doesn’t take any chances, and his motto is “Never not be afraid.”

A giant earthquake rocks the area, destroying the cave that Grug worked so hard to fortify. Forced to find a new home, Eep, Grug and the rest of their family leave everything they know and march into the world.

The story, which involves themes about risk and unchecked conservatism, is so typical that many moviegoers will know how it ends before the first act closes. It’s never fun to be that far ahead of a movie, and “The Croods” suffers because it isn’t surprising enough.

“This Is the End” features a huge collection of youthful Hollywood players, but the comedy, written and directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, isn’t nearly as funny as the talent would lead one to believe. The most interesting thing about the movie is that all the actors offer absurdist versions of their public personas.

Rogen and Goldberg essentially ask what would happen if the apocalypse hit while a bunch of Hollywood pals were partying at James Franco’s house. The answer is that everyone would freak out, treat one another badly and expect their celebrity status to merit an instant rescue.

Those involved should be applauded for so willingly mocking themselves. The project would have been more successful, however, if their portrayals were less interested in shock value and more concerned with actual comedy.

3 stars

Rated R for violent content, sexuality/nudity, language and drug use

Lionsgate

Available on: DVD, Blu-ray, digital download and on demand

“The Frozen Ground” isn’t innovative, but it is a well-paced and engaging thriller that tells the story of an Alaska state trooper who helped bring serial killer Robert Hansen to justice.